European brands generally sold well in the U.S. last month

Volkswagen Group's VW brand continued to slip on the sales charts despite strong performances from Passat and Beetle, with June sales down 3.2% from a year earlier. VW's fast-growing, premium Audi brand, meanwhile report a strong June with sales up 8.2%.

VW was the most important result of the several European brands sold in the U.S., where all saw mixed results. Jaguar was up, for instance, but sister brand Land Rover was down.

Here's how they did:

VOLKSWAGEN

That was despite a big jump for Beetle of 29.7%, a gain by Passat of 6.1% and a rise for Jetta -- VW's best-seller -- of 8.9%

But all other VW models were down.

VW's U.S. CEO, Jonathan Browning, said, "This isn't about one month of growth, one quarter of growth, even one year of growth...You really have to look at our growth over time," he said. VW sales are up 90% compared with 2009, he noted.

Diesel sales accounted for 24.3% of June sales and are 22.1% of sales year-to-date.

AUDI: VW's premium brand posted an 8.2% increase to 13,706 vehicles for June 2013 and closed out a first half that was its best-ever in the U.S. -- up 14% to 74,277.

Sales of its Q5 and Q7 SUVs remain strong and Audi said its profitable top-end models (Q7, A6, A7 and A8) as a group had sales up 19% in June.

All major automakers report June sales today. This post will be updated with other for other European auto brands as they are reported today.

JAGUAR AND LAND ROVER

Jaguar and Land Rover, the two famous British motoring names both owned by India's Tata Motors, saw starkly different sales results in June.

Jaguar saw a big 59% gain, having sold 1,637 cars, compared to the same period a year ago. Land Rover sales fell 4% to 3,468. Together, Jaguar Land Rover saw an overall 10% sales boost.

Best of all for Jaguar, its sales gain came on its priciest model, the XF flagship sedan. Jag sold 634 of the tony models, up 30%. It cited an increase in the variety of powertrains available for the model as a factor.

Over at Land Rover, sales of the all-important flagship Range Rover remained healthy. The brand sold 902 of them, up 23%. And the lower priced Evoque did well, too, with sales up 19%.

Land Rover is counting on an additional model, the Range Rover Sport, to power sales when it goes on sale in the fall.

PORSCHE

In a sign that points to the vibrancy of the U.S. car market, Porsche reported its best June sales in the U.S. in the company's history. Sales were up 23% over the same month last year.

For the first half of the year, Porsche has seen a 30% sale gain. It shows that consumers feel good enough about the economy that they were will to splurge on new, high-end sports cars at the heart of the brand's lineup.

Some of the biggest sales growth for Porsche has come from its Cayenne SUVs, which saw a 77% sales gain in June. The core 911 sports car model was up 66%.

"In the context of an improving economy, we're encouraged to continue this momentum with a persistent cadence of new model launches this year." said Detlev von Platen, President and CEO, Porsche Cars North America in a statement.

MERCEDES-BENZ

Mercedes-Benz saw a 7% sales gain last month, fueled by big sales of its core C-Class sedans as well luxury family haulers like the GL and M classes.

"We're on record pace through June hitting the highest first-half sales in our 48-year history and we're not slowing down," said Steve Cannon, CEO of Mercedes in the U.S. "Consumer confidence is on the rise, our product portfolio is expanding from top to bottom, and our dealer relations are at an all-time high."